Homecoming
by Arakan7
Summary: Near the end of the 7 year time skip. Raki visits his old village, this time with both Isley and Priscilla, but what he finds is new faces to old problems. 3/18 - Re-wrote some sections to the existing chapters - Chap. 4 is in the works.
1. Going back Going Forward

Setting: During the 7-year time skip. In a town that Raki is very familiar with.

Sect. I 

* * *

"Such good breeze."

The young man looked at his silver-haired mentor with a raised eyebrow. "Isley-san, you've said at least once a day ever since we arrived here years ago. When will you stop?" In truth, the older man stood atop a small rise in the landscape with his eyes closed and arms raised straight out, the wind flowing through his unbound silver tresses. The entire scene struck Raki as comical.

Isley let a smile appear on his face. "You should always enjoy good fortune when it comes your way - from a lucky coin to a mere breeze." He opened his eyes slowly, his gaze drawn to the clear blue sky above him. "For it can disappear in a blink of an eye." A moment passed between them before he added, "Or something like that."

Both men shared a laugh. It was one of the things that Raki liked about Isley. He knew when to be serious but he was never overly so and he was always ready to joke around. It was yet another trait that Raki admired in the tall silvered haired man that he looked up to as his role-model for the past few years. He also knew that Isley, despite his laidback and easygoing personality, had quite a turbulent past and sometimes it seemed as if the older man had lived ten different lives already.

"Really, you should be a priest or something with advice like that," Raki smirked. His attention was soon drawn to the young lady resting her head comfortably in his lap, a contented smile on her face. In her hair lay a lone white flower, a gift from a little girl whowas traveling with a family ahead of them. Priscilla had accepted the flower gratefully, even allowing the young girl to push it into her hair without complaint. He hadrarely seen Priscilla interact with anyone elsebut this was surprisingly intimate for her.He absently fixed a strand of her hair from her face, causing her eyes to flutter open momentarily. "Sorry, were you asleep Priscilla?" The young woman shook her head and smiled again, reaching up to fondly caress the light scar above his eye.

"She always seems to fall asleep in your lap," Isley made the casual remark, coming to stand over them. "It's the warm sun, isn't it, Priscilla?"

"Yes, it feels good," came the dreamy, subdued reply. Priscilla still didn't talk much even now but she had a fairly good, if simplistic, vocabulary. She only talked to either Isley or Raki, not bothering to answer anyone else. She had gotten better at acknowledging other people but it was almost as if she didn't see them half the time, which had puzzled Raki early on but grew to see it as just another quirk in her.

"Both of you still strike me as strange sometimes," Raki gave a small chuckle, putting a hand atop Priscilla's head, running his fingers through her hair yet careful to avoid touching the flower tucked carefullyin the strands. She gave a pleased mewing sound and snuggled even more against him.

"I can say the same about you too, Raki," Isley kept his eyes on Priscilla, his warm expression never changing. "You still train hard even though your sword skills are an equal to many a seasoned sword master. And you still keep up your search..."

"..." Raki's face grew melancholy in a familiar way as Priscilla began to make purring noises. "I made her the promise. I won't break it, no matter what."

Isley gave him one of his rare real smiles. "That's good. Men with real determination are rare nowadays. Keep it and I bet she'll be surprised at how much you've grown." He chuckled as Raki's face flushed lightly with the praise and made a show of glancing around. "Well, I think that we've taken a long enough break here. C'mon Priscilla. Let Raki get circulation back to his legs again."

Priscilla gave Isley a child-like glare as she sat up, upset that her favorite pillow was going to be mobile again. "...How much further," she asked, taking Raki's offered hand as she stood up gracefully beside him.

"Not far." Raki answered her, surprising Isley a bit with his quick response.

"So, I was right. You do know this area."

Raki nodded, his eyes taking in the familiar crest of the hills and trees. "Yes I do." He began walk towards the top of the hill quickly, leaving the other two looking at him. "This is where I met 'her'."

Priscilla made a rare show of running to catch up to him, her face easily showing her concern as she looked into his face. Raki turned and gave her a reassuring smile, to which she returned and looped her arm around his before turning to face the beginnings of a fair-sized village just ahead.

To Raki, everything thing about it was new and yet everything seemed so ... familiar. The smell of the baker's goods wafting through the air...the scent of the local flowers...even the sounds of shoes upon the dirt streets.  
"This is my old village - my old home."

"'Home' huh. It's been a while since I've heard that word," Isley remarked, his long strides easily catching up with Raki. "How nostalgic this must be for you." When he saw the young man nod, he added, "What possessed you to come back here after all this time?"

Raki stood quietly, gathering his wits about him. "Truthfully, I don't know. I really don't know why I wanted to come back here all of a sudden. I guess, something's just telling me that it's time to come back."

Isley took his eyes off of Raki and regarded the fair village before him. "Some quirk of fate perhaps," he spoke softly. "In any case, something feels amiss here."

Raki stopped and looked at his mentor. "What do you mean, Isley-san?"

"I mean," Isley pointed deep into the town, "that normally people are out walking about and not cluttered into the square at this time of day."

Raki looked and sure enough, it was as Isley had pointed out. Even from this distance, he could see that some sort of commotion was taking place. "Let's hurry please," he told his two companions before he broke into a quick run, leaving Priscilla and Isley behind.

Before Priscilla could follow suit, Isley grasped her shoulder and leaned in close to her. "I'm sure you can sense what is happening in there, right?" When his other 'charge' nodded, he continued, "Be careful to conceal your presence. We do not want to show ourselves in this place."

Priscilla gave him another curt nod before jerking her shoulder out of his grip and ran to catch up to Raki, who was nearly to the entrance to the town already.

"Yare yare," Isley smiled off-handedly, as he continued to walk after them at a leisurely pace, "Young ones these days." 

* * *

Just a lil something for the Priscilla fan in me. Tell me what you think of it. Those on the AS Forums have seen this already and thanks to them, this fic will see the light of FFNET

I'll get back to working on 'Rank 47' eventually.


	2. Homecoming

Homecoming

* * *

The sound of steel striking unyielding flesh rang through the air along with grunts and war cries. Raki felt a pit manifest in his stomach. He knew those sounds very well from his time spent with Clare on her journeys and his own experiences away from her. A Claymore was fighting a youma - here in his old town!

"Excuse me," he tried to be as polite as possible even as he pushed his way through the crowd of spectators that had given the entire square a wide breath. It struck him as very odd, not to mention that people would be caught out in the open when a battle like this was taking place. "Why is everyone out here? Why are they not in their houses!"

A man turned to look at him, his eyes showing fear. "It was pretty sudden! The silver eyed witch just attacked two men who then turned into youma!"

"That doesn't explain why you people are still out here," Raki gritted his teeth. Youma were not above taking human hostages to try and gain an advantage and all these people must have presented very good targets, if not meal tickets. "Get out of here or else you'll be killed accidentally! Go!"

"But-!" The man looked as if he was more afraid to leave the scene of the fight rather than protect his own life, which turned Raki's annoyance with them into anger.

"GO! NOW!" His voice rang out, shaking around them many from their stupor and they scurried away. He reached to his left side, feeling the sword of Rabona that had been with him through thick and thin. "Old friend, I may need your help once more," he whispered as his eyes quickly went over the scene, spying the Claymore facing off against a youma, its partner already out of the fight, lying face down in a pool of ichors and blood. The Claymore was breathing heavy and already had several wounds, but still her silver eyes burned determined as she leveled the blade against her hissing foe.

"You're getting weaker," it gave a sinister grin, its lips pulling back over its sharp teeth. "We'll still win today."

"We," the Claymore spat, "I just killed your partner, there is no more 'we'."

"If you say so," the youma laughed a high-pitched sound that grated like nails over a chalkboard.

_SHTUK!_

The Claymore didn't even have time to blink as five tendrils lanced through her body from behind, causing her to momentarily lose her grip on her sword. "Im-Impossible...!" She could barely manage to turn her head around enough to see what had struck her.

The other 'dead' youma had fired its finger appendages right through her, holding her in place as its partner made a final rush at the prone young woman.

So focused was the youma on its target that it barely heard the sound of steel slicing through the air. The youma on the ground howled as its fingers were cut through by a blade that embedded itself into the ground between the youma and the Claymore. The Claymore, finding the tension holding her up was suddenly released, tried to catch herself as she stumbled forward but she fell despite herself as the charging youma's claws passed through the space that she occupied just a moment before.

The youma paused to look around quickly, its eyes glittering in anger. "WHO DID THAT," it howled. "WHO DARES?" It spotted a young man walking towards it in a calm, slow gait and it pulled its lips back over its teeth with a guttural hiss. "Who the hell are you?"

Raki quietly walked past the youma to retrieve the sword he threw to free the Claymore. He gripped the sword with one hand and gave a light pull, easing the blade from the ground. He kept his silence as he kept the sword out and stalked to the prone youma lying a few feet away.

The other youma was not amused in the slightest, reading Raki's intent to finish off its partner. "You BASTARD!" It charged at him headlong, anticipating an easy kill. Raki's left hand shifted and he spun, flinging his left arm out towards the charging youma. Instinctively the youma swatted down the throwing dagger and kept on charging, drawing back its right arm in preparation for the strike to take the human's head clean off.

The ringing of metal resounded with the impact of the youma's claws against Raki's sword. The youma looked surprised, fully expecting to have broken the sword or at least knocked it out of the human's grip but the young man doubled his grip on the pommel and yanked the sword downward, out of the youma's grip, leaving a gash on its palm. The youma gave a cry of pain, its teeth clicking together in a rage. "DAMN HUMAN! I'LL CRUNCH EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOUR BON-!" A throwing knife sped towards its face and the thing swatted at it angrily, even more upset that it had been interrupted while speaking. This time, even its keen reflexes failed to warn it about the second throwing knife that had been behind the first one as it embedded itself in its left eye. Its cry of pain was real this time as it flailed its arms about wildly before grabbing its head and yanking the knife out. It threw the knife at its feet and forced its remaining eye open, glancing around quickly for the bastard that had dared to injure it.

"Haaah!"

The youma spun to its left, bringing its arm up to block the descending sword strike but was once again surprised when the human stabbed it in its shoulder with another sword before kicking off with a boot to its chest, making another gash on its arm that had blocked his first strike as well.

"Damn you," the youma howled, surprised yet again. "You have two swords?"

Raki got rid of the pale dark ichor on the sword in his right hand with a flick of his wrist, the liquid splattering on the ground. "You sound so surprised," he finally replied, his mouth set in a tight line. Isley had trained him not to engage in light banter with his youma opponents, especially since it was just a stall tactic and they nearly always had an advantage over him, no matter how wounded they were. Although, Raki found that they tended to forget certain things very quickly…as was such the case this time.

"A human daring to fight with youma with two swords," it continued, seeming to ignore the pain of his eye being gone and the slashes on its arms. Raki saw the muscles in its legs flexing and knew that it was about to attack. He merely brought one sword up and held the other out straight from his shoulder in a peculiar stance, his eyes betraying nothing but concentration. The youma howled with laughter. "You must be stupid if you think that you can win!" Raki smiled grimly. The ruse had worked.

"He's not the only one," a female voice came from just behind the youma, yellow eyes appearing above its own. The oversized blade sliced through its neck with uncanny ease, taking the head clean off, the dumbfounded expression of the youma locked forever in its death. The girl braced herself up on her sword, breathing heavily from the added exertion, her body wracked with involuntary spasms.

Raki quickly made his way over to her, sheathing the swords with practiced ease back into their respective holders and crouched next to the Claymore, pulling his canteen from his belt. "Do you want some water?" The young lady's eyes widened then narrowed at him, but he just looked at her with an expression devoid of any of the usual fear that most humans had of the 'sliver eye witches'. Then again, what fool human would knowingly risk himself to aid one of her kind, let alone buy her time enough against a youma for her to regain her senses? "It's fresh and you can't say you don't need it," he offered again.

"What are you, mad," she hissed, turning her face away from him to focus rather in healing the worst of her wounds. She gritted her teeth as her flesh forcibly bound itself together, sending jolts of pain through her being. He waited until she was finished before he pushed the canteen a bit closer to her, an offering smile on his face.

She glanced at him warily even as her eyes quickly returned to their normal silver color. "Who are you," she asked, slowly pushing herself to her feet. She tore her arm away when he reached in to help her up and wheeled on him, finding to her dismay that she was a few inches shorter than him. "Stop it! I do not need your help!" That was a bad idea she quickly realized that while her wounds were now closed, her body was still exhausted and needed rest. She wobbled on unsteady legs and in a flash, Raki's arms were at her shoulders, steadying her.

"You should take help when it is offered, miss," the voice of Isley was heard as he walked up from behind Raki, stopping a good distance away from her, Priscilla not far behind him, "Especially when the young man did what he did to save your life."

The Claymore gave an audible growl at the new silver haired intrusion, shrugging Raki's arms off of her. Priscilla ran up to Raki, silently fussing over him, making sure he was unharmed to her satisfaction, not acknowledging or even bothering to look at the Claymore as she slowly made her way over to the still prone youma, who looked as if it was trying to crawl away. Her sword was still out and it was soon raised above the thing's head, the heavy point ready to crash through its head and into the ground. "Any last words?"

The youma sneered at her. "You weakling. You girls need help from humans now?" The Claymore's eyes flashed in sudden anger and the heavy blade sunk deep into its skull. Priscilla hid her face against Raki's shoulder, her body trembling at the sight. When the Claymore turned back around, she found Raki's arm held out to her yet again, the water canteen still offered.

The Claymore glanced at the trio, her gaze lingering slightly on Priscilla and Isley before going back to Raki. She slowly took the canteen and drank a few gulps, keeping her eyes on him all the while before handing it back, muttering a quick 'thanks' in return.

"You're welcome," he replied easily, smiling at her.

"…" the blonde warrior continued to stared at him for a moment longer before she turned to the villagers that had begun to collect themselves around the youma and herself. "Double the fee."

"What?" The village elder was taken back. "Why?"

"There were two youma here, not one," the blonde warrior replied tersely. "Small wonder why two of my comrades sent to this place previously were killed." She glared at all the assembled villagers. "You pay for the two that I killed or else…"

"Or else what," one of the braver villagers dared to ask her.

The blonde warrior smirked openly at them as she nodded her head to Raki as she turned towards the town exit. "Then you better pray that he comes to fight them next time because we won't."

Raki looked at her, and then at the villagers, who regarded him with a mixture of awe and fear. It was quite disconcerting to say the least, especially when it came from people that he knew. Miss Mary and Jon the carpenter. There was even old Alan, the tanner, his kids were already grown by the time Raki was forced to leave. He wondered how many people that he had known from when he was a boy that had died in the time that had gone past. The very thought that some of them may have been taken by youma filled his stomach with wretched bile.

"You better pay as she says," Isley gave the not so subtle hint to the village elder. "I've heard that youma have very good ears when it comes to learning which towns are not under protection..." His smile seemed to send shivers down the spines of those who saw it despite the kind tone in his words.

The elder's mustache twitched nervously as he glanced at the Claymore, who looked very bored and in a hurry to leave as soon as she heard confirmation. "...fine...we'll do as you say. We'll pay."

"Smart choice," she murmured, looking at them. "Even though he may be able to kill one, he still can't sense them so he's useless that way." She watched Raki's expression out of the corner of her eye but he gave no sign of offense to her words. She wondered if she should have been relieved or agitated that he didn't say anything in defense of himself. "I'm leaving here; this place rubs me the wrong way."

Raki half thought about stopping her and insisting that she stay in town at least for the night but he knew that if Claymores didn't like a town, they left immediately after their work was completed.

"Hey you."

Raki blinked. The Claymore had stopped and was looking at him, her expression seemingly unreadable to everyone else but Raki saw faint curiosity in her eyes. "Um, yes?"

"What's your name?"

"My name...I am Raki." A few gasps were heard from the crowd and this caught the blonde's attention. "I was born in this village."

"I see... So it makes sense now." Her expression became unreadable for a moment as she stared at him before she closed her eyes and shook her head slightly and turned to leave. "Thank you, Raki," she called over her shoulder as she began to walk away down the path that led out of the village.

"Safe travel," Raki replied softly, the sight of that seamless walking gait, the sunlight glinting off her sheated sword and armor in a familiar manner struck him in a painfully nostalgic way.

Priscilla looked up at Raki's face, slightly puzzled by the sad smile on his face. He should be happy, shouldn't he? Her gaze lowered to those of the other people gathering in a loose circle around them and she felt a twinge deep within her body at the sight of them. Not wanting to confront those feelings just yet, she instead buried her face against Raki's chest, breathing deeply of his scent. As long as she did that, she didn't think of anything else but him...anything at all.

* * *

And yet another chapter finished - this one twice as long as the previous, yay. Anyway, some notes about Raki's swordplay: His fighting style is mostly Isley's swordplay incorporating Sid's knife-throwing skills to compliment and to create openings as well as keep the opponents off-balance. He also fights using the knowledge that humans are 'generally' useless against youma and any youma fighting against him will instantly underestimate him and just try to abuse the power difference between them.

As for Raki being able to hold his own against youma, I'm pretty confident that the general consensus is that Raki would be able to handle himself against all but the toughest of youma i.e. the Rabona youma, if he's been with Isley all this time and he'll be around 21 coming out of the 7-year timeskip so his body's in prime physical shape to pull some crazy stunts off as well.

Using two swords is something he thought about as well - I actually have him using three swords - the Rabona sword, I'm debating on making the 2nd one a falchion type, and the 3rd one will be an actual claymore (not a Claymore's claymore but modeled after a real one).


	3. New Faces and Old Problems

New faces, Old Problems

* * *

"Raki - son of Zian and Kei – was expelled nearly eight years ago since his family was killed by a youma under suspicion that he too was one." 

Raki's jaw tightened for a moment before he forced himself to relax. Hearing his dead parents' names brought back the nostalgia of his early boyhood days, playing with his elder brother Zaki with his mother looking on with a smile on her face. He found that he could still picture his mother's kind face, her eyes bright and full of life, her autumn brown hair tied behind her with a bow that both he and Zaki got for her for her birthday. She had cooked them their favorite meal that night, despite their father warning her that she'll spoil their boys like that. That night...the youma came...and his life changed forever.

"Raki!"

He found himself shaken from his stupor by Isley's hand on his shoulder. "Huh, oh, I'm sorry. Please continue."

Isley's expression spoke of concern as he gave Raki's shoulder a reassuring pat before they faced the village elder again. This man was in his late thirties, obviously new to the job and to Raki himself but apparently he knew of Raki and the circumstances surrounding his banishment. The young man turned his head, regarding the faces of those around him with a practiced eye to reveal details and weaknesses in opponents. Some of those present were still wary of him judging by their cold glances and stiff postures, but several of the younger or newer villagers were on his side, citing that he did aid the Claymore in fighting the youma and that he should be at least allowed back in for a visit.

"But what if he's a youma in disguise and he just fought the other one to chase it off," one worried man spoke up. Raki fought the urge to roll his eyes but he did settle for sighing. The excuses some people can come up with...

"Youma will never side with a Claymore," Isley cut in, his voice, while quiet, seemed as sharp as any blade. "And youma only fight amongst themselves when there is little food to be had, granted they don't need to eat that much."

"You seem to know an awful lot about Youma, sir," the elder mumbled, suspicion laced in both his gaze and words. The gaze was mimicked by a few of the older folks in the crowd.

Isley just gave another of his smiles in return. "I wouldn't say I know a lot about them but I believe I know enough. And," he added sagely, "I know that sometimes, humans can sometimes be just as bad as youma with their suspicions of one another, even causing them to cast out innocent children into the world when they had done nothing to deserve it."

With the living reminder of the incident in question standing before them, Isley's words had the desired effect on many of the villagers for they suddenly began to fidget and looked very uncomfortable, looking elsewhere save for the young man standing in their midst. "That was before I took over being the village elder," the man spoke after clearing his throat. "I know of the incident that you speak of and I say I still support the previous elder's decision."

Raki finally spoke, seeing that this was getting nowhere. Still, it saddened him that he would not be able to visit his old home, if it were still standing. "If my being here troubles you that much, then I'll just leave. I only wanted to visit the house where my family lived anyway." He really had hoped that they would have forgotten about the entire mess but apparently they haven't. He began to see why Isley constantly reminded him that he was different from other people with his unique mindset on the stance of Claymores and the like. However, his one real regret would that he wouldn't be able to honor his parents' and brother's memories by the tree that stood outside of their home. He felt bad that he couldn't come here earlier but then again, he never could. It was that reason, or rather a whimsical wish, that brought him back to this town in the first place.

Priscilla stood next to Raki, glancing at everyone with scarcely any interest showing in her eyes to the proceedings going on, but she knew that Raki was feeling troubled by the hard line his mouth had taken and the quality of his breathing. Still, she stood silently beside him since the meeting had nothing to do with her. With Isley along with them, there was nothing bad that could happen.

"It's not that we dislike you Raki but things have changed since you've been here," the village elder's shoulders drooped slightly, beads of sweat appeared on his face. Raki's expression remained unchanged but something in the man's tone and body posture caught Isley's attention and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Things aren't the same anymore."

"Let me through! I said let me through!"

The entire gathering turned as one to the sound of the disturbance coming from the entrance into the room they were crowded in. Raki turned to look in curiosity as the crowd willingly parted to reveal the source of the loud cries. Raki's eyes took a moment but his memory screamed at the appearance of the young lady now standing in front of them, her breathing slightly heavier than normal for the exertion. Her wavy brown hair flowed freely down just past her shoulders, tucked behind her ears to keep loose strands from flying into her face. She had large hazel eyes that shone with both life and determination which framed by long dark eyelashes, slightly furrowed by her dark eyebrows. The way she carried herself spoke of a robust, strong body used to hard labor and not the usual chores done by most women. "What's so important now?"

"Young lady," the elder's voice rang out irritably. "We are in a meeting now. Show some respect!"

"Oh I'm sorry. Excuse me for being curious about the stranger who not only helped a Claymore, but fought evenly against a youma as well," the young lady shot back in a patronizing tone that made the elder seethe as she pointed in the direction of the three strangers that stood in the middle.

It was her. After all this time, she was still alive. Raki could not hold his silence any longer as the girl continued to berate the man in front of them for the gross lack of manners that had been shown. "It's been a while, Moria," he spoke in a voice that despite being soft, seemed to cut right through the young girl's ire.

"Hn?" The sentence completely caught the young lady off guard and she turned to the young man who stepped more into the light to let his face be seen by her. "How did you know...?" Her eyes widened to the size of saucers and her mouth opened in shock. "I can't believe it... By the heavens...you're alive?"

Raki couldn't help but laugh at her words. "Apparently so. It's been a while since - Oof!" He stumbled a bit as Moria flung herself at him, embracing him in a tight hug. So sudden was it that Raki nearly lost his balance in surprise. "Mo-Moria? What are you...?" _She-She's strong... _he realized as he could barely move with her vice-like grip around him.

"Ho," was all Isley said through a cat-like smile. He had known that many girls have grown to see Raki as being quite handsome as of late but none of them had ever thrown themselves at him like that. He managed a glance at Priscilla and would have laughed out loud at her expression as it was one of a deer caught in a bright lantern light.

Moira ignored everything around her as her grip tightened around his neck, her voice reduced to a mere whisper, "It's you, it's really you. I can't believe it. You're still alive." When she finally released him, sudden unshed tears shone in her eyes even as she tried her best to hold them back. Her hands went to his face, feeling the scuff of a beard on his chin and the strong defined cheekbones, her thumb idly running over the scar above his eyebrow. "Raki...I."

Raki grinned. He could see a million and one questions in her gaze and yet she could not give voice to a single one. He decided to answer at least one of them and gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. "I've missed you Moria too. It's good to see you again."

She nodded and looked ready to embrace him again if it was not for the elder clearing his throat loudly, startling the two of them. "Are you done yet, Moria," comes the slightly aggrieved voice of the elder after he gave the two quite the glare. Moria's hands shot back to her sides, smoothing out the front of her dress as she quickly took a step back from the young man she had nearly tackled a moment before.

"I'm sorry," she offered meekly, her demeanor and tone totally changed Raki found. Moria had indeed grown into quite the young woman. "I never imagined that the one who helped rid us of youma would be my old childhood playmate who could barely take a hit from a stick, much less a sword." She gave a smile and a wink at the young man, who blushed profusely at the memories her words conjured up.

"And you're still quite the tomboy I see," Raki grumbled with feigned annoyance. "And to think I had thought you finally grew into a young lady."

"Hey, I _am_ a lady and I certainly don't remember asking you for your opinion on the matter," Moria's voice had risen dangerously despite the playful lift in her tone and Raki realized just why many of the men had cringed when Moria showed up - she was still the spitfire who had more than enough bite to put any man in his place. He also remembered that it was only Zaki who could stand up to her back when they were children. Of course, Moria also had a crush on Zaki as well if he remembered correctly...

"Indeed you did not, but that hug _you_ gave _him_ certainly begs otherwise," Isley cracked, earning a few quiet snickers from the present men folk.

Raki's blush was only outdone by Moria's own as she crossed her arms beneath her chest and looked the other way. "Wh-who asked you," she mumbled, earning a laugh from many this time.

With the somber mood now lifted, the village elder found that it would be nearly impossible to kick Raki out now, especially with his niece here unwittingly swaying the people's opinion on this matter. "Moria, we still need to decide something important here."

"I think it's already decided, uncle," Moria replied with a smile. "Raki and his companions will stay with me for as long as they wish. I live near the outskirts anyway so it shouldn't be a problem."

"You can't decide something like that on your own! You're still just a woman!"

"Moria please," Raki put a hand on her shoulder again. "I don't want to cause any trouble here, especially for you."

"No Raki, I won't let uncle kick you out again, especially this time when you've helped us and everyone here saw it!" She didn't wait for anyone else to voice their opinions as she turned to Raki and Priscilla, motioning with her hands towards the door. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

"Stop! You don't understand Moria! Don't butt into things that you have no idea of! He can endanger us all!"

"Oh I have a very good idea, uncle, and Raki is and never was a danger to anyone," Moria hissed, her eyes playing a hard light off her hazel eyes, staring hard at the village elder, who looked positively enraged at her audacity.

"All I do is for the good of the entire village; I won't have you ruining it just because you still have nostalgic feelings for some boy who was contaminated by youma and the silver eyed witches years ago!"

Raki bristled at his words, his fingers actually itching to pull a sword out and level it at the old man. How dare he? As if the youma attacks on his family were his fault! And this man was one of the ones that swayed the previous elder's decision to oust him from the village all those years ago. His body had begun to turn to face the village elder with his wrath but he was stopped cold by the young lady standing deathly still in front of him. Something about her posture and the feeling in the air around her made him forget all about his anger to the old man. "...Priscilla?" Unseen by Raki and many in attendance, Isley's smile thinned ever so slightly and he closed his eyes. Unlike the other people present, only he realized what the sudden 'heaviness' in the air truly was. 

Priscilla's eyes held the village elder in an almost hypnotized trance as she slowly stepped towards him. As the sounds of her boots made an ominous echo throughout the room, Raki could see the older man visibly pale and begin to shrink away from her as she approached, walking with the surreal grace of a huntress. She stopped several feet in front of him but Raki felt as though she could just lash out and strike him despite the relative distance between them. Those nearest to the poor man also found themselves withdrawing away from him rather than face the young girl's ire. Priscilla slowly lifted a gloved hand, her finger pointed towards him and spoke a moment later, her voice possessing a quiet, resounding strength that seemed well beyond her appearance in age.

"Don't say bad things about Raki ever again."

Raki stared at her in astonishment. The fierceness of her stony glare made his breath catch within his throat and his heart constricted painfully with a sudden and overwhelming sense of dread. Her posture reminded him of a wild animal, deceptively relaxed, ready to tear into the source of her anger at the slightest provocation. And her voice... it was not the same light and withdrawn, shy voice that he was accustomed to, but rather, despite its inherent softness, it was deeper, richer, and far more terrifying than anything he had heard in his life. So in shock was he that he was startled when he realized that she had walked back towards him and was looking at his face, smiling as if nothing had happened. He stared at her in disbelief, fo rall the negativity and foreboding that had enveloped her just a moment ago had seemingly vanished without a trace.

Isley cleared his throat loudly, breaking the thick, spell-like tension over them all. "Let us go then," Isley finally spoke in a hushed voice. Raki could have sworn that he heard everyone finally take a deep breath, as if they had all held it during those terse moments. He gestured to the young lady with hand towards the door behind them. "Miss Moria shall we?"

"Um...yeah sure." Moria stared at Priscilla, who had taken Raki's arm for herself, a moment longer before leading them out of the now vacant doorway and into the street towards her house.

The rest of the townspeople slowly filed out, leaving their still shivering village elder alone in the common room. In a matter of moments, he was left alone and he collapses against the stone wall behind him. "Her eyes...her eyes...!" It was as if he had stared into the eyes of a beast barely restrained if at all, ready to devour him where he stood. He glared hard after Raki, his fist slamming down on the table. "Just who are you, Raki? What are you?" He cursed the fact that he still had a report to make once everyone had gone down for the night. They were certainly not going to be happy about it but then again, they were the only ones who could do something about this new 'problem'. With that, the village elder heaved a shaky sigh. Yes, everything will be fixed once Raki was gone for good. Then everything will be back to normal.

* * *

Moria took a deep breath once they had wandered into the street and let it out in a rush. "Whoa, that was pretty fierce acting in there," she remarked glancing at Priscilla with something akin to wary admiration. "I never would have thought you were the 'frightening' type but I guess I'm wrong." She began to walk to the left down the main road in the town and the party easily kept pace.

Priscilla merely averted her eyes, her face flushing from embarrassment. Raki couldn't tell if she was sorry for what she did, or if it was something else altogether. In any case, he reached up and covered her small delicate hands with his own and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong, Priscilla," he reassured her, moving his hand to place on the top of her head, an action that made her give a surprised whimper before she dared to look at him again. "Thank you for what you did." _Even if it was a bit...unsettling._

Priscilla's abashed expression transformed as she gave him a smile full of relief then leaned against his shoulder, holding his arm even tighter with her own.

"Master of understatements aren't ya," Moria grinned at the sight of the two beside her. "I've never seen my uncle that scared in all his life! I bet the only thing that could make him even more scared would be an actual youma staring at him!"

"Oh, I imagine so," Isley spoke, his smile becoming a bit wider. "Few things in this world are scarier than youma."

"Like what?"

"Like the tax collector," Isley joked, earning a laugh from Moria. 

As Isley and Moria made small chitchat, Raki's mind was elsewhere. Truthfully speaking, there were a few things scarier than average youma - psychotic Claymores and a true Voracious Eater and he was lucky enough to have survived an encounter that had both. 

"Well, aren't you the witty one," she remarked at Isley, turning off the main road down a side street. "You must be used to women throwing themselves at you."

"I only try to be witty," the silver-haired man replied, smiling at Moria, "but so far, I have found no woman worth holding onto."

"Well, that's a shame. Good looking guy like you. Too bad village girls probably don't have much for your tastes eh?"

Isley closed his eyes even as his smile never left his face. "I find that village girls have a distinct yet quaint flavor all to themselves that many girls in the cities simply do not possess. It's really quite pleasant."

Moria laughed as she stopped walking, nearly having Raki bump into her. "I'll remember that for the next stranger," she winked at Isley before turning to Raki and Priscilla. "Well, here we go, home sweet home," she gestured to the modest house in front of her. The building was well-worn yet in good condition although the roof looked to have a few week spots scattered over it. "Not much to look at, is it?" 

Raki could say so but that would be extremely rude to his friend. Isley had a large house in the North, well-furnished and warm despite the cold season. Even down here, the place that Priscilla had picked out for them to live was just a bit smaller than the original house. He still wondered what sort of work did Isley have to come up with all that money he put down as the entire payment. "This is not a problem," he reassured her. "Do you live here alone?"

"Yeah." There was a melancholy tone in her voice and her eyes became downcast. "I guess I couldn't move away even with all that's happened here. This place is still my home."

"Then we shall gladly stay here," Isley gave Moria a small bow. "Forgive the intrusion."

"Pfft, no need for formalities," Moria waved her hand to them as she opened the door and pushed it wide, stepping to the side to allow them in first. "You two are friends of a friend so for now, you all are my friends too. I just hope you don't eat too much." As Raki moved to the side to allow her in first, Priscilla put a hand on the door frame then suddenly turned her head to look down the street they just came. 

"What is it Priscilla?" Isley asked her, looking down at her before regarding the street they just traveled down as well.

"Movement. Someone," Priscilla intoned in a low voice. 

Moria shrugged. "Probably some curious boys; you don't know how many of them I had to continually chase off a few years ago."

Priscilla turned and looked at Moria with the question written plainly on her face.

Moria had to laugh. "Oh come now - Why else would a boy follow a girl around that they don't know?"

Raki's face reddened. "Hey, why don't I cook dinner tonight in thanks for letting us stay," he tried to change the subject. 

"Raki, I can't let you do that!" Moria's face showed surprise at his proposal. "You're my guest, besides, I know how to cook."

"Nonsense. It's the least I can do. I've become a pretty good cook over the years."

Moria put a hand on her hips, the other one leveled a finger at Raki, all the while with a smile on her face. "You saying that you can cook better than me, Raki-ki?"

Raki's face broke into a grin as Moria used her own nickname that she came up for him when they were kids. "Well, since you seem so eager to try me you tomboy..." Their laughter floated through the door as Moria closed it behind her. Of course she did not see the man peeking at them from behind a building corner. Seemingly satisfied, the man quietly slunk away.

* * *

"So, they are all in her house."

"Yes."

"Did they know you followed them?"

"No, they couldn't have...although that young girl gave me quite a scare. She couldn't have seen me though."

"That girl..." The man shuddered. "She's not right - I'm positive she's a youma or something else."

"Anyway, what are you going to do?"

"What else? I have to go tell 'them' about what happened, if they aren't already aware."

"Why do we even bother with them anyway?"

"They are the ones that are protecting us. We have to do as they ask."

"I don't like it," the other man's voice was low as he shook his head in the darkness. "I don't like it one bit."

"You don't have to - that's why I'm in charge." The man took a breath and let it out slowly. "Go on now. Your work is done."

"Yes sir." The man gave a slightly inclination of his head to the other before turning to leave.

The one remaining watched his companion leave before he left himself. "Yes... Once, he's gone, then everything will be alright again."

* * *

I sense that as I progress, that my chapters are becoming longer... Don't you love the suspense now? XDD

Moria's purely fictional, as if you couldn't tell but I needed someone to be familiar with Raki and yet give Priscilla a little 'nudge' or two through the rest of the story. I had to use some standard clichés but hopefully by including her, it won't ruin the rest of the story. I also decided to make a new person as the village elder as I don't think that using the previous one would be good...making Moria his niece was just another cliché...

As for 'Devil Priscilla' making a slight appearance...I just wanted that to happen. That and I adore 'Devil Priscilla's voice...


End file.
